After a brief public hearing, a proposed new Ottawa County road tax is on its way to county commissioners.

The board is expected to take up the 0.5 mill tax at its Aug. 12 meeting.

While Ottawa County Commissioner Al Dannenberg said he plans to support putting the tax on the November ballot, he isn’t so sure about his constituency.

“You put this millage in May, it would have passed with flying colors,” he said after Tuesday’s meeting. “When you get to November, they’ve been through the construction season.”

Revenue from the gas tax and vehicle registration fees bring about $21 million into Ottawa County. That’s a fraction of the $280 million the Ottawa County Road Commission estimates it will take to put all roads into the “good” category and keep them there.

Of the 426 miles of primary road in the townships of Ottawa County, about 122 miles rate as good or very good. That compares with 161 miles of “fair” roads and 143 miles of “poor” roads.

The millage would add about $5 million to the road commission’s $15 million annual budget with the money collected in a municipality going toward roads there. About $4 million would go to townships and $1 million to cities.

The 0.5 mill tax would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $25 annually. It would expire in 10 years, but the road commission would have to return to the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners every year for approval. They could request no more than 0.5 mills.

Dannenberg said he has spoken with area city and township leaders whose primary concern is that 100 percent of the money collected from their municipalities stays there in the form of road construction projects. Dannenberg represents Zeeland and parts of Holland and Zeeland townships. Zeeland Township already has a 2 mill road tax.

The tax money would be spent exclusively in each municipality on road reconstruction, resurfacing and preventative maintenance — not on administrative costs, equipment or snow removal.

“If someone votes against this, I understand where they’re coming from because it should have been fixed in Lansing,” he said.

If legislators do manage to find the $1.2 billion-plus necessary annually to bring Michigan’s roads back up to par, the county tax could be repealed, he said.

Two residents spoke during Tuesday’s formal public hearing with a third chiming in afterward, concerned that commissioners won’t, in fact, pull back on the county tax if a state-level solution is found.

“This proposal is another Band-Aid,” said Michael Kuras, of Spring Lake Township.